


Night Out

by Wishweaver



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 19:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11974161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishweaver/pseuds/Wishweaver
Summary: Team Arrow wants to treat Felicity to a fancy night out once she’s sufficiently recovered from her gunshot wound. A wrench almost gets thrown in their plans when the Diggles’ babysitter has to cancel. Luckily they know someone who can fill in—fast.Set during Season 4 of Arrow and Season 2 of Flash when the Barry/Iris/Joe/Wally dynamics are still a little tense, and Felicity is just well enough to manage such an outing.





	1. Just Dropping By

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. If it isn’t totally obvious, this story is the background material mentioned in the notes for Grieving for a Phantom Child. Yes, I finally finished the silly thing.   
> 2\. I don’t completely understand the time algorithm between the Arrow and Flash shows—sometimes they seem to synch up, sometimes not—so I just took the easy way and arranged show events for my own convenience.   
> 3\. The Arrowverse Wiki lists Baby Sara’s birthdate as October 8, 2014, so I’m guessing she’s about 2 ½ at this time of this story.

Lyla Michaels Diggle glanced at her watch in confusion as she hurried downstairs to answer the door. It was a little early for the sitter to be arriving yet—or the rest of Team Arrow for that matter.

Then again, if a known, competent human being was outside she wouldn’t turn down a little help. She and John hadn’t had a fancy, dress up date night in _months_ , and little things like showering and dressing, never mind hair, nails, and makeup were doubly challenging with a curious toddler thrown in the mix.

“Lindsay?” she asked hopefully, as she opened the door, only to blink in surprise at the young man on her doorstep. “Barry?” she amended, addressing her unexpected guest.

Barry Allen appeared to be focused on stamping out his slightly smoldering Converse sneakers, but at the sound of her voice he looked up and gave her a big smile. “Hey, Lyla, I’m sorry to come by unannounced. The team made something for Sara and Central’s quiet so I thought I’d drop it off,” he said, searching through his messenger bag and producing a small wrapped package.

“Thank you,” Lyla remembered to say as her brain struggled to catch up. She didn’t have the same violent visceral reaction to the Flash’s powers that her husband John did, but the idea of him running 600 miles as casually as she might decide to drive across town was vaguely disconcerting.

“Of course,” Barry said then hesitated. Lyla was suddenly very aware of her bare feet and the curlers still in her hair. “Um, I see you’re getting ready to leave, but I was hoping I could see her open it—maybe take a picture to show everyone—if this isn’t a bad time—this is totally a bad time, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I’ll…I’ll just go.”

Lyla blinked, and shook herself out of her reverie. “What? Oh. No! I’m sorry Barry. Please, come in. I’m actually glad you stopped by,” she said, opening the door wider in invitation. “Johnny, Oliver, Laurel, and Thea talked Felicity into a night out so they’ll be over soon. You could come with us, or at least stay long enough to say hi,” she coaxed when he glanced doubtfully between her semiformal dress and his own skinny jeans and layered shirts. “Actually if you could just watch Sara for a few minutes so Johnny and I can finish getting ready I’ll owe you a big favor.”

She expected hesitancy on his part and was preparing to launch into a speech on how he had nothing to fear from her toddler daughter, but to her surprise and relief, Barry just smiled and nodded, completely unperturbed at the idea. “Sure. Where are Dig and Baby Sara anyway?” he asked, pausing by the front door to remove his sneakers.

“Upstairs. Johnny’s finishing up her bath,” Lyla said, turning toward the staircase when she heard scampering feet and baby giggles followed by John’s “Sara!” and heavier footfalls.

“You can cath me, Daddy!” Sara squealed, looking back at her father instead of where she was going. Lyla watched with her heart in her throat as her daughter careened toward the top of the stairs, wet feet skidding on the hall floor. Before she could scream a warning or move to intercept her there was a gust of wind and a flash of light, and suddenly Johnny was leaning weakly on the upstairs bannister and Barry was back beside her with a giggling, towel-wrapped Sara in his arms.

“Again!” she demanded, grinning at Barry, while her parents worked to get their heartrates under control.

Barry glanced up at John, who was still looking rather ill and wisely decided not to encourage her. “Maybe later,” he hedged with a smile. “My name’s Barry. I’m a friend of your mom and dad’s.”

“My name Sawah. You my fwiend, too!” Sara exclaimed, making Lyla feel a warm rush of pride. _She’s growing up so fast!_ she thought wistfully, remembering the helpless infant she used to know.

“I’m happy to meet you, Sara, and I’d love to be your friend,” Barry said, grasping her tiny hand between his thumb and forefinger and giving it a little shake. “My team and I made something for you. Would you like to see it?” he asked, settling her more comfortably in the crook of one arm and picking up the box with his other hand.

_Is the sky blue?_ Lyla thought to herself, exchanging a smile with Johnny when he came down the stairs—his t-shirt and sweatpants looking a little splashed from the bath. Together they watched with equal parts curiosity and trepidation as their daughter tore into the box Barry brought, sighing in relief when Sara pulled an absolutely adorable ruffled nightgown out. Lyla was amused to note that it had a little group of Pokémon on it, embellished with ribbons and sparkles. Team Flash knew the way to her daughter’s heart all right, she thought, enjoying the look of awe on Sara’s face.

“Pwetty, Bawwy!” Sara said excitedly, earning one of Barry’s room-brightening smiles.

“Thank you! I’m so glad you like it!” he enthused, before turning back to Lyla. “So, diapers? Trainers? Probably not in big girl panties yet, right?” Barry asked, settling the gown, box, and paper aside and starting to pat Sara dry with the towel. “If you’ll just point out what Sara here uses in the way of underpants, I’ll dress her for bed while you guys finish up—the gown’s already been laundered—maybe take a couple of pictures for the team if you don’t mind?”

Lyla blinked, needing a second before her brain realized they were discussing the absolutely adorable little nightgown, getting Sara ready for bed, and taking pictures at the same time. Johnny, apparently more familiar with the younger man’s whiplash-worthy subject changes, simply gave Barry an unmistakable ‘stay right there’ sign and went to retrieve the diaper bag.

Handing Barry a diaper he warned, “You get a pass this time, but do _not_ use superspeed around my daughter unless she’s about to be injured or killed, got it?”

Barry grinned mischievously at him. “ _You’re_ going to be fun when she’s ready to date,” he observed, relenting with a chuckle when a look of horror crossed the other man’s face. “Don’t worry, Dig. Dating’s a long way off. Right now I’m sure we can find some toddler-speed trouble to get into while we wait, right Sara?” Lyla snorted in a very unladylike way when her husband lifted a scolding finger, opened his mouth then closed it again with an annoyed huff. 

Barry shook his head, smiling wider as he laid Sara on the towel and fastened the diaper. “Go on. We’ll be fine, I promise. Believe it or not, people actually used to pay me to watch their kids. I had a waiting list.”

That took Lyla by surprise but it was John who blurted, “Are you serious?”

Barry laughed again, seeming to enjoy the older man’s reaction. “Sure. Babysitting was one of the ways I financed Joe-termed nonessentials growing up—my comic book collection for instance.”

Oh there was a story there, Lyla was sure of it. She waited, watching while Barry gathered up the little nightgown and gently worked Sara’s head and arms through the neck and sleeves. When he saw they were still there, he grinned and used one hand to make little flipping gestures toward the stairs. Reassured that her daughter was in reasonably capable hands, she gave her still somewhat reluctant husband a nudge and led the way back upstairs to finish dressing.


	2. Team Arrow Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Team Arrow arrives and Lyla learns her regular babysitter has the flu.

John Diggle peeked out the front room window hoping that the rest of the team was running early. He grinned when he saw the familiar van parked at the curb and Oliver settling Felicity into her wheelchair while Thea and Laurel waited. Their night out could wait a few minutes. They really, _really_ shouldn’t miss this, and besides, the babysitter hadn’t arrived yet.

Stepping out the door, he watched his teammates come up his front walk. When he had their attention, he motioned for them to hurry, but be quiet as they approached.

Unsurprisingly, Oliver left Felicity in the other women’s care and jogged up to him, eyebrows knitted in concern. “Is something wrong, Dig?” the other man asked, not seeming to know what to make of John’s request for silence when combined with a relaxed stance and amused expression. They’d been planning this outing for a while now—Felicity’s first real night on the town since being injured. John could tell the team was braced for bad news—that something had come up to spoil it—so he hurried to allay their fears.

“Nothing’s wrong. You just have to see this to believe it,” John said, smiling at his friends. “I wanted to catch you before you rang the bell or made noise and ruined it. Try to keep quiet. It will be hard to once you see.”

Oh, he had them now. John grinned even wider at their curious faces. Gesturing for the others to follow, he led the way into the house and paused in the doorway of the dining room where two of the chairs had been pulled out to face one another. His wife Lyla sat in the one facing them, resplendent in one of her nicer “going out” dresses. Sitting cross-legged in the other one with his back to the door was none other than Barry Allen.

“He and his team made that little nightgown for Sara,” Diggle explained softly as everyone huddled around Felicity’s wheelchair. “He came by to drop it off—said Central was quiet and he needed to blow off some steam. He was going to take off again since he could see we were on our way out but Lyla convinced him to stick around and say hi to you guys. Something seems to be bugging him, maybe we can convince him to come with,” he summarized, giving his wife a wave.

Lyla greeted them all with a quick smile and a can-you-believe-this expression as she lifted her hands to show off her freshly painted fingernails. Her feet were propped on one of her self-appointed mani-pedi technician’s knees with a kitchen towel stretched between them and poked between both sets of toes to keep them apart. Sara, wearing toy jewelry, princess shoes, and her new nightgown, was overseeing the proceedings while hanging on Barry’s other knee and the three of them were chatting happily. “So, that’s why some nail polish brands are so gummy, and others take forever to dry?” Lyla asked, addressing the man in front of her.

“Oh, for sure,” Barry agreed with a nod. “A commonly used nail polish foundation is a film-forming polymer dissolved in an organic solvent like nitrocellulose dissolved in butyl or ethyl acetate. Variations are mostly the result of what other components manufacturers choose to add to their own formulas—resins, plasticizers, pigments, thickeners—that kind of thing.” Barry paused to pick up more polish then grinned up at Lyla. “Fun fact…nitrocellulose is also used to make explosives and movie film.”

“I…had no idea,” Lyla replied, giving John and the rest of her guests another bemused smile they all returned. Then her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. “Why do they add plasticizers and resins?”

“Nitrocellulose film is brittle. Plasticizers help with that. Resins or equivalent adhesive polymers help the polish adhere to the nail surface,” Barry explained, finishing the last toenail with a flourish, stuffing the little brush back in the bottle and screwing the lid in place. “All done! Just give it a few minutes to dry.”

Sara looked at him like she’d been betrayed. “No, Bawwy! Me now, me now!” she demanded, patting her tiny hands on his free knee. John saw Barry glance down at Sara then over at Lyla, who cocked an eyebrow in return.

“You tell me, Mr. Forensic Scientist. Is it safe enough?” John could tell Lyla was playing, but Barry being Barry considered the question seriously.

“There’s been a lot of product re-evaluation since nontoxicity became a thing. The formulas still shouldn’t be ingested so they’re not strictly ‘kid friendly,’ but a lot of them also aren’t as noxious as they used to be,” Barry replied, picking up the polish bottle again and squinting at the list of ingredients. “When we were kids I nagged Iris about the contents of some brands until she threatened to deck me.”

John watched his wife’s eyes light up in understanding. “Oh, so _Iris_ is the reason you know all this.”

“ _Iris_ is the reason I know a lot of things. Don’t even get me started on the wonderful world of hair care.” 

And that did it.

John wasn’t sure if it was the idea of the Flash knowing about nails and hair, or the clear note of _I can’t believe I’m such a sap_ in his good-natured grumbling, but with that statement Lyla, Thea, Laurel, and Felicity all lost it making poor Barry jump a mile.

"And _this_ is why we always practice situational awareness," Oliver couldn't help but observe, striding forward and clapping Barry on the shoulder while Dig and the others looked on with amusement.

"Yeah, well, I’m _really_ interested Oliver, and I'd _love_ to hear the rest of your lecture, but I’m sure you’re eager to be on your way so I won’t hold you up," Barry said, giving everyone one of his mischievous smiles before gently picking Sara up and perching her on his unoccupied leg. "I should totally recommend this brand to Iris by the way; it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen.” He picked up the bottle again then hesitated. “Do I have time to do Sara's nails or do you need me out of your hair now?"

"There’s no need to rush off. The babysitter hasn’t arrived. In fact, we might even have time for Situational Awareness: The Condensed Version," Lyla speculated, giggling at the betrayed look Barry sent her and glancing around for her phone. John took his cue and retrieved it for her.

"Thanks, Johnny...oh drat. I forgot to take it off silent. I missed a call earlier." She frowned as she listened to the message and looked up at her guests with a sigh. "Lindsay's caught the flu and can't make it," she reported, eliciting a chorus of groans.

"What about A.R.G.U.S.?" John asked. "Can someone come out?"

"I prefer to do that only when Sara might be in danger or we're working, Johnny," Lyla chided. "Besides, A.R.G.U.S. isn’t close. We'd be late by the time someone could get here and we might lose our table." She sighed again then looked up at her husband and friends. "Go ahead and go. I'll stay behind with Sara. Why don’t you go with, Barry?" she invited, getting the Allen trademark ‘you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me’ eyebrow raise for her trouble.

"Don’t be ridiculous, I can look after Sara for you," Barry said, carefully applying polish to her miniscule nails, and pausing to blow each one dry before proceeding. "You’re all dressed up, I’m not, and I know for a fact Dig would much rather have you as his date,” he teased with another easy smile. “Besides, you all planned a big night out for Felicity, Central's quiet, and the plans I had…changed. I’ll just text everyone so they know to allow a little time if they need me. Easy."

“Yes, but…” Lyla frowned as she bit her lip, considering. “I know you said you’d watched kids before, but do you have any experience with children Sara’s age?”

John thought fleetingly about looking a gift horse in the mouth, but wisely chose not to say anything. Lyla was very particular about whom she entrusted Sara’s care to, and anyway Barry didn’t seem offended by the question. He almost seemed to expect it.

In lieu of replying, Barry set the polish brush back in the bottle, and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket. He flipped through it for a few seconds then handed Lyla a battered card before setting his wallet on the table and resuming work. By now, Sara was helping him blow the polish dry.

Felicity was the first to break. “What is it?” she asked, wheeling around to Lyla’s side then laughing anew. “Red Cross Babysitting Basics? Seriously, Barry? And how long have you had this thing?” she asked, plucking the card from Lyla’s fingers for a better look.

“Since I was eleven,” Barry admitted with a shrug as the rest of his friends crowded around to see. “I got that the first summer I lived with Joe and Iris, and I’ve kept it current ever since.”

“More Iris knowledge?” Thea asked with a grin. Barry shrugged again.

“Not really. Well, sort of,” Barry amended, closing the bottle of nail polish, and carefully setting Sara back on her feet. “Joe never complained, but having another kid dropped in his lap ten or so weeks before summer break really put him in a bind. He was still a beat cop then, so he had to really stretch the money he’d put aside to cover vacation, child care, and back to school expenses. He also had to do some fancy dancing to find day camps and programs in his price range that still had two openings available.

“Long story short, Iris noticed the babysitting class on a list of Red Cross offerings posted at the library but didn’t want to take it alone. We were _just_ old enough to participate by ourselves and the Red Cross was an easy walk from the precinct. Joe gave us everything but a Taser and let us spend the day there taking the Babysitting Basics, First Aid, and CPR classes.”

“Well, you seem to get along fine with Sara,” Lyla considered. John could see her starting to cave especially when Sara ran back over clutching a basket with her toy tea service in it. “Bawwy! Bawwy sit!” she said, tugging on his hand, then squatting down to pat the carpet.

“Call Iris. Even now she loves to whine about how her brilliant idea for earning more pocket money paid off better for me than it did for her,” Barry said, collecting his card and wallet then humoring the baby by sliding off the chair to sit cross legged on the floor.

“What she forgets to mention is I made myself available _to_ babysit more than she _ever_ did. If you want actual references, some of the cops I used to sit for still work at the precinct. I could call if you want,” Barry offered, accepting a cup from Sara with a smile and a thank you and letting her drape a pale pink feathered boa over his neck. John smiled as his daughter pretended to pour tea for the two of them, then casually tossed the plastic teapot aside.

When Lyla still looked torn, Felicity decided to speak up. “You know, Lyla, Barry has a pretty good track record with the exception of being late. And since he’s already here you don’t have to worry about that. Besides, he has _credentials_ ,” she teased, getting an eye roll from the speedster.

“Yeah, he’s pretty dependable,” Oliver said, “ _when_ he remembers to practice situational awareness.”

Barry let out an exasperated huff. “For real you guys? Don’t listen to them, Lyla. Sara isn’t the first toddler I’ve been responsible for. I’ll guard her with my life, I promise. Here,” he said, unlocking his phone and handing it to Lyla. “Put your cell number in there. If I get called back to Central or it even _seems_ like something _might_ be wrong I’ll let you know. Actually,” he plucked the phone out of Lyla’s hands and gave it to Dig instead, “Would you mind putting the numbers in Dig? I need to talk to Lyla for a couple of minutes before you go.”

Dig frowned, pausing in the act of entering the cell numbers in case Lyla needed backup, but he shouldn’t have worried. Barry wasn’t mad or insulted by the worried protectiveness. He just wanted a quick rundown of what Sara did and did not like, her bedtime routine, any known food allergies or fears, and anything else Lyla thought he should know.

By the time Lyla finished listing all the things she thought Barry might find helpful, Oliver was looking at his watch. “We really need to go if we don’t want to lose our table to the waitlisters,” he pointed out.

“Felicity has my number…you still have it, right Felicity?” Barry asked, walking them to the door with Sara on his hip. “If you want to check in feel free,” he offered. Lyla smiled.

“Thanks, Barry. Oh, how much do we owe you for this?” Lyla asked. Barry waved it off.

“It’s no trouble. Bring me back a big dessert or something so I don’t have to find an all-night convenience store before running back and we’ll call it even,” Barry said, then turned his attention to Sara who was getting teary-eyed and wobbly-lipped.

“Hey Sara, do you want to get goodnight hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad now, just in case you fall asleep before they get back?” he asked casually, somehow deflating the urgency Sara always felt when John and Lyla had a date night. Dig had to admit he was impressed. Sara wasn’t _happy_ they were leaving, but she just nodded and accepted the promised affection rather than kicking up her usual amount of fuss.

“How’d he do that?” he asked, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Pre-emptive strike,” Laurel said as they made their way to the van. “Seriously,” she insisted when the others gave her strange looks. “He put her at ease as much as he could—didn’t mention you leaving, _or_ her having to fall asleep without you in the house, _and_ made sure she got her hugs and kisses. Just like a calming nervous witness before they get on the stand.”  

“And putting people at ease is one of Barry’s original superpowers,” Felicity added, smirking at her fiancé as he lifted her into the van’s passenger seat. “Exhibit A, your honor: Oliver Queen!”

“Hey now,” Oliver protested mildly as he got her settled the moved to the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, she’s feeling better,” Thea said, giving Felicity a gentle hug before climbing in the back and buckling herself into a seat. “Let’s get this show on the road!”


	3. Second Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow spends some quality time at Oliver and Felicity's loft after their dinner and show. Lyla has a little case of separation anxiety but doesn't want to call. Felicity helps by hacking into the home security system to see how Barry and Sara are getting along.

Felicity hadn’t been sure about this whole night out thing. And it wasn’t even because she still felt all that bad because she really didn’t. It just felt safer inside—away from staring, pitying eyes and people who might do the same or worse. But the night had gone okay. Instead of choosing a nightclub or another place where there was loud music and lots of dancing, Oliver had chosen a low-key venue featuring a sumptuous food and a concert by an award winning pianist.

Afterwards, they’d come back to the loft she and Oliver shared instead of going to the Diggles’. They’d indulged in each other’s company and felt free to talk and laugh as much as they wanted because there was no sleeping baby upstairs. Looking around at the faces of her teammates, Felicity smiled softly to herself. Too often when they were together it was to thwart some threat to the city. It was good to see them cut loose and relax without danger nipping at their heels.

_Maybe Barry brought some of Central City’s quiet with him,_ she mused, taking a second to feel guilty about how she’d been ignoring her friend’s texts and calls before deciding she could feel guilty tomorrow. Maybe she’d even call him and talk. She just hadn’t wanted to up to now. It wasn’t Barry’s fault, and she certainly didn’t want him relegated to a chair like she was, but she had resented him for a while. She’d been jealous and angry that his super-healing had allowed him to overcome his paralysis in a way that she, a mere human, could not.

She wasn’t proud of that, and hadn’t mentioned that to a soul, but it _had_ been good to see Barry again. She’d be foolish to damage that friendship any more than she had. Mind made up, she took out her phone and set a reminder so she wouldn’t forget, looking up when Lyla sat down on the couch beside her.

“Having fun?” Lyla asked.

Felicity smiled and nodded. “I’m glad you guys talked me into this. I didn’t think I was ready, but I guess I was.”

“Getting routines back is sometimes the hardest part of recovery,” Lyla agreed, then quieted, looking down at her drink with a hard to read expression.

“Is something wrong?” Felicity asked, wondering if there was something Lyla and Dig weren’t telling them. Lyla noticed she was worried and offered a smile.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just wondering how Barry and Sara are doing. I’ve been fighting the urge to call all night. Johnny thinks I’m being histrionic. He told me if Barry needed help he’d call.”

“He’s probably right,” Felicity offered. Barry, like all the other male vigilantes she knew could be ridiculously reluctant to solicit assistance on his own behalf, but for Sara (or anyone else) she was pretty sure he’d sound the alarm without hesitation. “But if you’re worried, call.” Lyla sighed, looking conflicted.

“Or,” Felicity offered, her hands automatically reaching for her laptop, “we could just check on them this way.” She laced her fingers and cracked her knuckles. God it had been too long since she’d hacked into anything. “What security system do you use?”

Oliver, of course noticed she had her computer out and wandered over with Dig in tow. “What’s going on?” he asked leaning down to kiss her temple.

“Lyla wants to see how Barry’s holding up,” Felicity said simply, fingers dancing over the keys. “And I have to admit I’m curious too.”

Thea elbowed Laurel. “Twenty bucks says Barry’s crying harder than Baby Sara—kidding! Good grief. I was kidding!” she said, taking a step back from the poisonous looks Dig and Lyla threw her. “For crying out loud, I’m sure they’re both fine!”

“Well, I’m in, we’ll know in a few seconds,” Felicity said, lifting an eyebrow when the Can-Can started to issue through the laptop speakers with a set of unfamiliar lyrics.

_There’s Hydrogen and Helium, then Lithium, Beryllium,_  
_Boron, Carbon everywhere, Nitrogen all through the air,_  
_With Oxygen so you can breathe and Florine for your pretty teeth,_  
_Neon to light up the signs, and sodium for salty times,_

_Oh, my God…_ Felicity pulled up a grid full of grainy black and white feeds while Laurel and Thea wandered over.

“What is _that_?” Oliver choked out, while Dig said, “Is he singing to her about elements?”

_Mag-ne-si-um, Aluminum and Silicon,_  
_Phos-phor-us then Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon,_  
_Po-tas-si-um, and Calcium so you’ll grow strong,_  
_Scan-di-um, Titanium, Vanadium, and Chromium and Manganese!_

“Looks like,” Felicity cackled, wondering why any of them were surprised. If this kind of song existed _of course_ Barry would know it. And be able to sing it. “Oliver, turn on the TV,” she requested, finally locating the feed she wanted. Barry had a laughing, barefooted Sara up on the dining room table so she was closer to his height, and the two of them were “dancing.”

_This is the Periodic Table, Noble gas is stable,_  
_Halogens and Alkali re-act ag-gres-sive-ly,_  
_Each period we’ll see new outer shells_  
_While electrons are added moving to the right._

Not wasting any time, Felicity set the current stream to record then flipped the view over, looking for earlier footage.

“Felicity!” Lyla said, sounding almost pained.

“I’ll put it back, I’ll put it back,” Felicity reassured her, keys clicking steadily under her fingers. “I have it recording. I just wanted to grab the feed data from earlier tonight before it gets archived or deleted. It’s probably not all worth keeping but…”

“Good thinking,” Thea congratulated her, rubbing her hands together. “Blackmail for days!”

“I don’t know about that,” Laurel said, refocusing on the screen when Felicity found what she wanted and put the real time feed up again. “The Flash has a decent set of pipes. Who knew?”

Lyla chuckled. “That must be the secret weapon he mentioned before the rest of you showed up.”

_Barium is 56, and this is where the table splits,_  
_Where lanthanides have just begun Lanthanum Cerium and Praseodymium…_

Diggle shook his head at the seemingly endless list of elements as the song continued. “How does he _remember_ all that crap?”

Lyla gave her husband a wry look. “Probably the same way he _remembers_ the basic ingredients of women’s beauty products.”

“And that rat poison can be used as a blood thinner in a pinch,” Oliver put in, shrugging at Thea and Laurel’s horrified looks. “What can I say? Barry’s brain has always gone 400 directions at once, even before the lightning, but get him focused and he’s Felicity-grade smart and quick on his feet. I owe the man my life.”

“Yeah, he was so grateful he tried to throttle him,” Dig added, blithely ignoring the ‘ _really_ , Dig’ look Oliver threw his way. “I can still see it, we pried him off Barry then Felicity here, says, ‘this is the part of the lifesaving emergency where you thank the person who did the lifesaving.’ It was scary as hell at the time, but looking back it’s kind of funny.”

“Yeah, especially when Barry felt compelled to defend my honor,” Felicity put in, grinning brightly at Oliver’s annoyed but resigned expression. “Oliver got all huffy and shouty when he realized I’d revealed his identity. I was standing there wishing the ground would swallow me up then Barry got his breath back and said, ‘I’m not going tell anyone and you don’t have to thank me but you should thank her instead of being kind of a jerk.’” She paused a beat catching Dig’s eye and the two of them finished, “Mr. Queen,” before laughing at the shared joke.

Thea turned to her brother with round eyes. “ _Ollie!_ How in the world are you even friends?”

“Well, Barry’s big on second chances _and_ I think it’s fair to say that our esteemed Mr. Allen had a small case of hero worship at the time,” Dig put in, giving Thea’s shoulder a fond squeeze. “He couldn’t say enough about the vigilante. Oliver finally started coming around when Barry managed to raise a fingerprint and identify his would-be murderer.”

“I believe I already said he was smart and quick on his feet,” Oliver pointed out. “And as you’ve both repeatedly mentioned, I wasn’t at my best when he found out I was the Arrow,” he said, just in time for Barry to sweep Sara off the table into a dip and announce with the song, “And…Then…We’re…Done!”

Another person not slow on his feet Oliver gestured to the TV screen and said, “Excellent idea. Moving on…”

They watched Barry prop Sara on his hip, pick up his phone, and pause the music, before showing it to Sara. “I guess everyone managed to calm you mother down,” he remarked, “or maybe she’s trying to save face. I thought for sure I’d have at least _one_ text or call by now. Do you think I should text her, or would that be too much like a proof of life photo?”

Sara giggled. “Silly Bawwy!” she broke off to yawn, then looked up at him again. “Dance more!” she said, poking at the phone and making Barry laugh.

“Sure,” he agreed, setting Sara back down on the tabletop and spinning her around, making the toddler shriek with laughter.

Felicity looked over at Lyla when she groaned. “What is it?”

“God…we’re never going to get her settled down enough to sleep.”

Dig shook his head. “I don’t know, Lyla. She’s already yawning a lot. Then again I have no idea how long they’ve been at this.”

“Now where were we…” Barry said, looking at his playlist, “ah! A classic,” he said, touching the ‘play’ arrow. When the opening guitar notes of _Fun, Fun, Fun_ sounded Felicity frowned a little trying to figure out his game. The Beach Boy selection currently playing was still upbeat, but slower than the modified can-can number. The theme continued with classics like _C is for Cookie_ and _You’ll Be in My Heart._ By the end of the Phil Collins rendition, Sara had lifted her arms, wordlessly asking to be picked up, and while she and Barry were ostensibly still ‘dancing,’ her eyelids were drooping and she was starting to look very relaxed.

“Oh, my God…he’s _tricking_ her,” Felicity said, trying to decide whether to be impressed or scandalized. “The dancing is to have fun but also to tire her out. And the songs don’t sound like sleepy time songs, but each one is a little slower than the one before it. It’s like the warm up, workout, and cooldown levels of aerobics classes.”

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad he’s on our side,” she commented, smiling softly as Sara finally laid her head on Barry’s shoulder while he swayed and hummed a lullaby-ish tune to her.

 Sara cracked one eye open and patted Barry’s chest. “Ting, Bawwy,” she said sleepily. “Ting the Mommy Daddy song from the moobie.”

Barry chuckled softly. “You remembered that? My goodness what a clever girl you are,” he said before taking her little hand like they were waltzing.

_How very special are we, for just a moment to be, part of life's eternal rhyme,_  
 _How very special are we, to have on our family tree, Mother Earth and Father Time._  
 _He turns the seasons around, and so she changes her gown, but they always look in their prime,_  
 _They go on dancing their dance, of everlasting romance, Mother Earth and Father Time_ …

“I wonder if he has time to be a regular,” Lyla mused, thoughtfully, making the group laugh, as Barry trailed off once he realized he’d lost his audience and headed for the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Fun fact: Tom Leher wrote the original Elements Song and set it to the tune of "Modern Major General." I liked the updated version better since it has little explanations in it. Both songs are available for viewing on YouTube but the version featured in the story is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgVQKCcfwnU
> 
> 2\. Mother Earth and Father Time is a song from an animated retelling of Charlotte’s Web made in 1973. It’s a musical cartoon movie that Nora Allen might have shared with young Barry given what we learned in Season 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqXJ6ssJxPc


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry finally faces what he was trying to run away from and calls Caitlin for help with a nagging question.

Barry gently laid Baby Sara in her bed and hovered a few minutes, unable to shake the creepy feeling of being watched. Sara slept undisturbed, so he finally decided the quiet house and his current lack of focus must have brought on his unease.

Trying to busy himself, Barry tested the temperature of Sara’s hand, then her foot, then decided to cover her lightly. The nightgown’s fabric was soft and warm, but she had already kicked her little legs out of the bottom of it and her skin might get chilled later.

Satisfied for now regarding his charge’s comfort, Barry flipped on the baby monitor and wandered back downstairs. He’d talked a good talk so Lyla wouldn’t break her plans, but it really had been a while since he’d directly interacted with a child this young. Lucky for him it seemed to be like riding a bike. Besides, despite his initial fears when his friends left, Sara had been relatively easy to distract and care for.

 _Speaking of distractions…_ Barry looked around, but the Diggles kept a neat house. He wiped down the top of the table, finished tidying up Sara’s toys then flopped on the couch and took out his phone, tossing it lightly from one hand to the other.

His fingers automatically moved to text Iris, but he wasn’t sure if she and Joe were still entertaining Wally or not. Sighing, Barry cancelled the message, unwilling to interfere.

 _All the lonely hearts in the world still beat,_ he reminded himself. He’d been missing Patty and feeling a little out of sorts earlier that evening. Hoping to get in a better mood, he'd planned to spend some time with Joe and Iris that evening after making a quick Flash round, but when he peeked through the front door window, he’d seen Wally had gotten there first.

Now Barry knew getting everyone to get along was Joe’s number one priority, and he really didn’t have anything against Wally. He couldn’t even say his behavior came as a complete surprise. The kid had been dealt some heavy blows recently, and Barry understood that better than most. The problem was tonight, he’d wanted to spend some time in the reassuring comfort of his family, not patiently working to crack the tough nut that was Wally West. Besides, from what he could see, the three of them seemed to getting along unusually well. Far be it for him to walk in and make the kid all prickly again. Or worse, lose his cool with Wally's snarky attitude and undo all progress he’d made thus far.

So, Barry had made a choice, and for better or worse that choice was not to interfere with the Wests and just run his blues off instead. Sara’s gift was still waiting to be delivered giving him a destination, and his impulse run to Star City had actually worked out well for Team Arrow…so win-win-win.

Sara had been a magnificent distraction—bright, sweet, and an absolute joy to be around. Now that she was sleeping, Barry felt himself start to brood again, but this time he couldn’t run the blues away so he was stuck with his circling thoughts.

Iris had always teased him about his cornball sense of romance, and claimed he thought about love and marriage more than any five girls. Barry found her assessment a tad excessive. He cherished his quiet dreams of a future home and family, yes, but he didn’t dwell on them. Or he hadn’t, rather. Until recently those plans had seemed too far in the future to bother with. They had also included Iris suddenly wising up to the fact that her best friend Barry Allen worshipped the ground she walked on.

There were just a couple of problems with that scenario now. One, Iris had made it very clear she didn’t love him _that way_ , and two he wasn’t really human anymore, was he?

When Barry woke from his coma he’d simply been relieved that he’d survived his ordeal no worse for wear. Physically he was actually better than before. He had abs. He had _powers_. He’d also been changed down to his DNA and until recently he’d been so busy learning how to function with his new physiology he hadn’t really thought about potential far-reaching consequences.

Evil Wells had always gone on and on about how he could be the source of potential therapies, but now Barry found himself wondering. Given his current state was he even genetically compatible with normal human beings? And, on a more personal note, had having his own family become impossible?  Sighing, he found himself remembering the confession recording Evil Wells had left and how he’d claimed Barry would never be truly happy. Was that what he was getting at?

Barry shook his head, irritated with himself. He was thinking in circles. The sensible thing to do would be to man up, make an appointment with Caitlin, and figure out what he was dealing with. Spending time with Sara tonight had brought the idea of family front and center in his head, but there were always options. If he was incompatible with humans now, well, he knew officers on the force who were childless by choice. He also knew from personal experience that adoption and fostering were possibilities. Before he could change his mind, Barry unlocked his phone and sent a text to Caitlin.

_Hey. I’d like to make an appointment. What day/time works for you?_

He wasn’t expecting an immediate reply, but he got one.

_I’m just watching a little TV before bed. Are you hurt? Do you need to meet now or can it wait until morning?_

Barry rolled his eyes because of course Caitlin would assume if he reached out he must need a limb reattached or something. He sent a photo of Sara in her new nightgown to Caitlin and typed:

_It’s not an emergency, I’m not hurt, but I am babysitting for Dig and Lyla. I don’t know when they’ll be home so tonight’s probably not great. Tomorrow or whenever is fine. I just have a couple of patient-doctor things I’d like to run past you._

He was expecting a little pause, then maybe a calendar appointment, but instead the face of his phone lit up with the message ‘Caitlin Snow would like to Facetime with you.’

Barry lifted an eyebrow. Caitlin always swore she hated Facetiming, but he accepted the request and was soon looking at a very comfortable looking Caitlin. It was always something of a shock seeing her dressed down since she was always so put together at STAR Labs.

“Did you say you’re _babysitting_?” Caitlin asked, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Barry grinned into the phone. “No job too small,” he joked. “Team Arrow wanted to take Felicity out tonight. The Diggles’ sitter cancelled. I was here,” he summarized. “Right place, right time.”

“You took Baby Sara’s present to her, I see,” Caitlin said, smiling. “I thought we were going to plan a trip once Felicity was feeling better.”

Barry dipped his head guiltily. “We still can. Felicity seems better now. We can get something for her _and_ Baby Sara,” he offered. “Her color is better and she’s getting some of her spark back. She felt well enough to give me crap about my Red Cross Babysitting Basics certification,” he elaborated when Caitlin gave him an encouraging look.

Caitlin laughed unabashedly at the admission then grinned up at Barry. “That’s good to hear. I had no idea you had experience looking after children, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You seem so comfortable around them.”

Barry gave her a little half smile in return.

“I take it Baby Sara’s in bed?” Caitlin asked.

“Yes, I just got her down a bit ago.”

“Well, I can send you a calendar appointment or if you’d like we can just talk now,” she offered. “You look like something’s eating at you.”

Barry was going to ask for an appointment. Really he was. He wanted time to compose himself, think things over and make a list of questions and concerns. But when he opened his mouth, “Do you think I’m compatible with other humans now?” fell out.

He cringed, afraid Caitlin might laugh, but she considered the question seriously. “What brought this on?” she asked gently. “Was it Baby Sara?”

“Sort of,” Barry admitted. “Felicity too, I guess. I knew about her injury but seeing her was…hard,” he said, unable to adequately express the wrongness of his vivacious friend confined in a wheelchair. “I remembered something Evil Wells told me. He was really excited about potential medical applications…or seemed to be, anyway. He said, ‘Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world of genetic therapies...vaccines, medicines, treasures.' He talked about being able to cure disease, stop aging…reverse paralysis. But every time I asked him if he needed blood or tissues or whatnot for testing purposes he just said all he needed was for me to get faster. I didn’t understand at the time, but I trusted him so I didn’t question it. Do you think what he told me is possible, or do you think he was just spinning a yarn—telling me something that would ensure my cooperation? You know, to get me fast enough to send him back to the future?”

Caitlin was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know, Barry,” she finally admitted, “but I’d like to find out.”

Barry smiled, feeling something ease In his chest. They’d figure out the answer and then at least he’d know what he was dealing with. “I _thought_ you might find that more interesting than patching me up every other day,” he teased, feeling better than he had in a while.

“Not to mention if Evil Wells was right, that would be a fantastic new line of research for STAR Labs,” Caitlin added, “provided it’s sustainable of course.”

“If it can be done, I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Barry said, looking at his friend with gratitude. “Thank you Caitlin. Still doctor-patient stuff, okay?”

“Of course, Barry, it’s not uncommon for people in their mid to late twenties to start thinking about the future more seriously,” Caitlin assured, then her smile became more playful.  “Besides, your baby fever is no one’s business but your own.”

Barry felt his mouth drop open. The esteemed Dr. Snow might come across as oh-so-proper, but she could zing unsuspecting victims like a striking snake. It was one of the things he loved about her, but this really was going too far.

“Excuse you, I don’t have _baby fever,_ ” he objected. “I simply want to know if adoption and fostering are the only options available to me and my hypothetical wife if we decide we want hypothetical children. Besides,” he said, as another thought occurred to him, “even if I am still compatible, it might not be advisable because the hypothetical baby could endanger the health of my hypothetical wife especially if it has my metabolism. Hypothetically. Or—”

“I think we should stick with the compatibility question for now unless there’s something else you need to tell me,” Catlin cut across him before he could get a good head of steam going. “There isn’t a Baby Allen in the works, is there?”

Barry frowned into the phone, insulted. “If there was, then there wouldn’t be a question of compatibility would there?”

“I suppose not…just 500 others,” Caitlin teased, laughing when Barry gave her his best ‘I-can’t-believe-you’re-being-so-mean-to-me’ look. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. It is a good question. We’ve just been so busy teaching you how to run up the sides of buildings and phase through solid objects we haven’t bothered with more mundane considerations. I’ll run a battery of general tests tomorrow when you get off work and we’ll go from there, OK? Don’t worry we’ll get to the bottom of it. This isn’t even the most complex scenario you could have come up with.”

Barry raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Sure,” Caitlin assured him. “This is still a hypothetical situation pairing you and an unaltered human woman. You could be actively planning to woo another meta. Peek-a-boo for instance,” she said, grinning when Barry blinked at her in surprise, then made a face of mild disgust. “Meta and human is complex enough, but Meta/Meta? Think about it.” Barry did and felt his head begin to hurt.

“I’m hanging up now,” he warned, but Caitlin had built momentum and was undeterred.

“What if their powers were incompatible? What might the child inherit? Could dual powers be a thing? Would they cancel each other out or create a new mutation? The possibilities are staggering.”

“Oh, like the hypothetical love child of Killer Frost and Deathstorm?” Barry asked innocently, earning a squeal of indignation.

“ _Barry!”_

“Oh, she can dish it out but she can’t take it,” he crowed.

“Fine, fine. Truce,” Caitlin relented. She made a final face at him then became all business again. “Restrict your activity level tomorrow and don’t eat for about four hours before you come in. That should be enough to simulate fasting levels without making your blood sugar too low. Cisco and I will get take out before you get here so don’t worry about dinner.”

Barry nodded. “Okay. If I get called out on a case or something comes up I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good,” Caitlin agreed. “We’ll focus on the medical research side of things if anyone has questions. One last thing, if I’ve miscalculated the fast time and you start feeling faint, eat something.  Same thing goes if there’s an emergency or you have to stay late. I don’t have to start with fasting tests, I just prefer to get them out of the way.”

Barry nodded again and gave her a thumbs-up sign. “Gotcha. And Cait…thanks again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware that Felicity was "cured" with tech. I started this before that happened. Plus, I liked the idea of STAR Labs embarking on a Flash inspired line of healing therapies. That was mentioned in Season 1 a couple of times then never brought up again.


End file.
